Future of Donzi and Fountain Still Undetermined

Meanwhile Baja hopes to make a splash with the GT-30 at the upcoming Miami International Boat Show.

Just a few months ago, Baja Marine in Washington, N.C., announced it had acquired the assets of Donzi and Fountain, and would resume some level of limited production for those lines, as well as continue production of its own line, in 2013. While the Baja brand of Outlaw series sportboats and Islander open-bow runabouts appears to be on solid footing, the future of Donzi and Fountain is less certain. According to Baja Marine principal John Walker, the company will display at Baja GT-30, which debuted at the 2012 Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, and likely a 2012 model 42’ Fountain sportboat, at the 2013 Miami International Boat Show in February.

Unveiled at the 2012 Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, the GT-30 will be on display at the 2013 Miami International Boat Show.

“We are working on some other things that we may bring, but I’m not comfortable discussing them just yet,” Walker said.

Walker described the plans and progress for the Fountain and Donzi lines as “a work in progress,” and said Baja has taken orders for at least one boat in each line. The future of those lines, however, has not been finalized.

“We still have a couple of dealers we are talking to about taking on both lines [Donzi and Fountain] and I have still have a couple of brokers working on it,” said Walker. “I am also having conversations with an international distributor about taking on both lines. We’re still in the early stages of deciding what we’re going to do, but it’s actually gone pretty well so far.”

As for the reintroduction of the Baja brand, Walker said he was pleased with the progress the company has made so far. The new GT-30 was reportedly among the most popular go-fast boats unveiled at the Fort Lauderdale event.

The future of Fountain remains unwritten.

“Things are starting to come together for Baja,” said Walker. “Dealers are looking for what to order now for spring delivery, and there’s been a lot of interest in Baja in the international market. We’ve had several requests from dealers and customers on the 23’ Outlaw, the 26’ Outlaw, and the GT-30.

“The reception to the GT-30 was extremely good,” he continued. “We’ve had a lot of conversations about it, and we got a lot of good press on the boat. We’ve had a few demos with the press and a few with retail customers, and they’ve gone really well.”

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